My name is Stephen Henden and I live in  Dulwich in South London.
I have been interested in the V1 and V2 attacks for many years. My family lived in South London during the war, in Beckenham and Dulwich
and I was often told stories of the Blitz and the V weapon attacks.
My mother ,who lived in Beckenham, used to tell  a story of how she used to travel from Clockhouse Station to Charing Cross on the train to
work. One day she looked out of the window and saw a Doodlebug flying along on a parallel course !. Everyone just went on reading their
news papers and after what seemed like a long time it veered off and exploded . I recall asking her if she was frightened. She replied, "well yes
but you just got used to it !"
My Dulwich Grandmother,who lived in Dovercourt Road , used to frequently mention the bombing.I now live a few hundred yards away, in
Court Lane, in a house itself damaged by a Flying bomb on the 13th July 1944.
My Uncle Peter, once told me that he used to go up to the Addington Hills, near Croydon, and watch the V2's being launched from the
Netherlands (on a clear day you could see the vapour trails going up into the sky). He was later employed patching up Flying bomb damaged
houses.
So, intrigued with these recollections,  a few years ago I started reading books on the subject including Bob Ogley's excellent Doodlebugs and
Rockets and the very comprehensive "The Doodlebugs" by Norman Longstaff. These provided me with a huge amount of information.
However, being of an enquiring mind, I wanted to find out exactly what happened in South London during the Period,  how many bombs,
where they fell, what damage was caused and what affect that this had on the post war shape of the area.
I am currently unable to handle further E mail enquiries due to my workload. I will be back in contact in the new year
I will endeavour to answer any questions that you may have.
About me